Loewe / Spring 2013 RTW

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In this oversaturated age, it’s not often that you get to introduce something new to an eager audience. Which is part of the reason Loewe creative director Stuart Vevers had so much fun on his tour of California this summer, making appearances at Neiman Marcus in Los Angeles and San Francisco. “People are always looking for the next thing. And even though we’re 160-plus years old, we’re new to some people,” Vevers said of the Madrid-based leather goods house he’s guided for nearly five years. “I think Americans are fascinated by the Spanishness of Loewe.”

Spain is a tempting country to fantasize about, and Vevers seems to be happily under its spell. He took another trip this summer, north to Cadaqués and the castle of Gala Dalí, Salvador’s wife and muse who Vevers had been reading about. “She drove this enormous Cadillac along these cliff edges; she was known for having a voracious appetite for men; she was very idiosyncratic, outspoken, very bold,” he said. “It got me thinking about how she might be today and it became a clash of these two worlds: her aristocracy and youthful attitudes with these broad Spanish aesthetics.”

The tension between royal and rural played out in a spring collection of stunningly worked leather and suede clothes. Vevers opened with a streamlined and sexy pencil skirt and bra top worn underneath a brown leather and tulle MA-1 flight jacket appliquéd with roses. The play between masculine and feminine was intensely appealing, punctuated by a scarlet lip and severely pulled-back hair. From there, Vevers showed leather sheaths with short sleeves rolled up as well as intricately embroidered, fitted shirtdresses—the few pants moments being high-waisted, full legged, and suede. As for bags, they were predominantly a woven top handle tote inspired by a stair case in Senora Dalí’s home and light-colored military-style satchels.

To be sure, there was a lot of leather for a spring collection, even by this season’s leather-heavy standards. But, as Vever sees it, to not take advantage of the house’s incredibly skilled artisans would be remiss. No leather was left untreated, uncut, unwoven, unembroidered, or untouched by a hint of femininity. The best part, though, may be that they’re also lightweight. One of the heaviest pieces, a laser-cut leather trench, weighs 400 grams, he said. That’s about as heavy as a can of soda.